Monday, November 9, 2009

I have no doubts whatsoever about the motives of many Second Life artists — making stuff to please competition judges or to increase sales or appeal to the masses. It is work that conforms to a set of well-known predetermined rules that are continuously reiterated by the public. Photographers have the greatest challenge over the cliche image, since most anyone with a camera can take a good picture of a sunset.
Self-introspection aside, when it comes to making art, its the struggle that produces the best results, if only for yourself.
STAY FRESH!

Monday, November 2, 2009

I've taken loads of shots of this sculpture. Very difficult to get the light and drama that I normally achieve due to the amount of transparency. I want the sculpture to be alive and want the pictures to capture it. I'm thinking that texture changing images will convey the essence of life in a microscopic world. This means my pictures won't be static like paintings but contain scripts like a short framed video.

Update: No time to work on animation but I think I've found a source for the script. For now, the still life pictures resonate. Latest news: I've submitted the full size sculpture of Budding to the UWA Design Competition. Its in the non-scripted category. Its an unusual piece (as most of my stuff is) and from what I can tell, previous winning works are representational, surreal, or deal with fantasy. It might stand out because it is unusual or be dismissed because of it.

Alot of what I see in Second life is cliche art . When the message becomes blatantly obvious, it turns into caricature and social comment. This isn't all bad. They win competitions and make sales. Cliches become cliches because they work. Its what the artist does with them that matters.

From Wikipedia:

"The term cliché is a phrase, expression, or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or novelty, especially when at some time it was considered distinctively forceful or novel. It is generally used in a negative context."